A YEAR AGO seven-year-old Joseph was just a number – one of the legion of children placed in foster care.
His plight, along with seven others, was featured on the front page of the Essex Chronicle during National Adoption Week to highlight the growing national problem and help find them a loving home.
Twelve months on – and after our coverage sparked more interest in the Essex adoption service – Joseph has a new family, a gay couple from south Essex.
Proud dad Eric, 27, told the Chronicle: "It hasn't been without its testing moments but now Joseph has really relaxed and feels able to be himself.
"He was quite an angry young man at first, as a result of all he has been through, and had daily tantrums.
"He was with his foster carer for three years and he has to grieve for the end of that era of his life. We are constantly reassuring him this is his 'forever family' and nothing is going to change that."
Of the eight children the Chronicle featured last year, six have been adopted and two have been placed with long-term carers.
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